I have no skills for flight, or wings to skim the waves effortlessly, like the wind itself unaided, but I have flown in man-made machines, looped the loop in a Tiger Moth, watched men practise dropping food-sacks from inside a low flying Hercules. I have circled and landed in a glider and watched kite-boarders risk life and limb lifting off from Elounda Bay where once Imperial Airways flying boats landed on their way to India. Recently I saw a replica of the Wright brothers first flyer, one which is occasionally towed up to fly, briefly, perilously and from that to the climate polluting jets that crisscross our skies with contrails, from which I have had my share of gazing with wonder at the Earth below whilst transported unimaginably far, I have most certainly flown even though I have no skills for flight…
© Andrew Wilson, 2025
Over at dVerse Poets Pub, merrildsmith in Prosery, invites us to write apiece of prose using no more than 144 words, including a quote from Ada Limón‘s “The Magnificent Frigatebird,”. The italicised lines at the beginning of the piece are the given quote…
Modern humans have many ways to fly, and we’ve used that ability for good and evil. And those contrails are beautiful. Still it’s wondrous to see the birds fly, isn’t it? Thank you for writing to the prompt, Andrew!
I think it was envy of the birds that drove aviation Merril and yes those contrails are beautiful – but deadly…
I enjoyed your exploration of flight, Andrew, and how the prompt words launched you into your Prosery piece. You have had an exciting life.
Thank you Kim, I have been exploring my life as the theme of my A to Z during April (why I have been MIA from the Pub) I have added a button at the top of my blog if you feel like dipping in…
A great take on the prompt, Andrew. Those kit board fliers are really crazy! Living on the edge!
Thanks Dwight – they re indeed and I have previously encountered one old enough to know better, with a broken pelvis!
A friend living in my Oregon city keeps his glider at our smallish airport ~ I have a standing invitation to join him for a “spin” ~ thus far, I have politely declined. The most daring air adventure I have had is in a hot air balloon over the mountains of Colorado.
I enjoyed reading your prose, Andrew .. perhaps I will gather my courage [and glide.]
Oh do Helen! Such fun – its not like being high up – more like being inside a globe – and tell us all about it…
Wouldn’t it be great if we kept a bit of amazement what we can do… maybe then we could cope with a little bit less.
I agree Bjorn, we don’t need to take suborbital flights to appreciate our lives on this Earth…
One private plane, the rest commercial flights. Not a big fan of the little ones and definitely not the paragliding, etc.
Nice to see you post A to Z Donna – have you made a decision about using your blog going forward?
That was awesome, Andrew! I do not have the skills or the guts to glide or kiteboard or even bungee jump, but I love flying on planes. Lol!
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Thanks Yvette, well some people even baulk at big planes and there is a lot to be enjoyed looking down from 35000 feet – mountains in particular…
I love the autobio Andrew and the contrast of the ability to fly naturally or by using technology. I resonate with wind surfers risking life and limb, but it also looks so exhausting.
Thanks Paul! You definitely need to be young and fit!